The court erred in removing a juror near the end of trial where the juror had spoken out about her perception that a defense witness had been treated disrespectfully, and wondered if police deception in interrogating a suspect was normal practice. However, she also stated that she had formed no opinion about the case and promised to remain fair and open-minded. Moreover, double jeopardy prevented a retrial because excusing a juror who is apparently sympathetic to the defense, over defense objection, to reconstitute the jury in the prosecutions favor is tantamount to a mistrial without necessity.
Case Summaries